Recipe - Lemon Meringue Bites

LEMON CURD
Three fourths Stick (6 Tablespoons)
unsalted butter
1 tablespoon Finely grated fresh lemon
zest
One half cup Fresh lemon juice
One half cup Sugar
3 lg Eggs
One half Recipe (24) sweet tartlet
shells, in their baking
cups

MERINGUE
3 lg Egg whites
One half teaspoon Cream of tartar
Three fourths cup Sugar

SWEET TARTLET SHELLS
2 One fourth Sticks (1 Cup plus 2
Tablespoons) cold unsalted
butter
3 cup Allpurpose flour
Three fourths cup Confectioners' sugar
One half teaspoon Salt
3 lg Egg yolks
3 tablespoon Ice water
1 teaspoon Vanilla

Make Lemon Curd: Cut butter into pieces and in a heavy saucepan cook with
zest, lemon juice, and sugar over moderate heat, stirring, until sugar is
dissolved and mixture just comes to a simmer. In a bowl whisk together eggs
and whisk in lemon mixture until combined well. Transfer lemon curd to pan
and heat over moderate heat, whisking constantly, until it just begins to
simmer. Pour lemon curd through a fine sieve into a bowl and cool
slightly.Chill lemon curd, its surface covered with polastic wrap, at least
2 hours, or until cold, and up to 3 days.

Fill tartlet shells in baking cups with lemon curd.Chill tartlets, covered
1 hour. Preheat oven to 400 F.

Make Meringue: In a bowl with an electric mixer beat whites with a pinch
salt until foamy. Add cream of tartar and beat whites until they hold soft
peaks. Gradually add sugar, beating until meringue holds stiff peaks.

Transfer meringue to a pastry bag fitted with 1/2inch plailn tip and pipe
meringue 2 inches high onto each tartlet, completely covering lemon curd.

Bake tartlets in middle of oven 3 minutes, or until meringue tips are just
browned, and cool in cups on racks. Chill tartlets in airtight containers
at least 2 hours, or until cold, and up to 1 day. Keep tartlets chilled
until ready to serve. Makes 24 tartlets.

Sweet Tartlet Shells: For this recipe you will need two minimuffin pans,
each containing twelve 1 Three fourths by 1inch cups.

Cut butter into bits. In a bowl with a pastry blender or in a food
processor blend or pulse flour, confectioners' sugar, and salt until
combined well and add butter, blending or pulsing until mixture resembles
coarse meal. In a small bowl whisk together yolks, ice water, and vanilla
until combined well and add to flour mixture, tossing with a fork or
pulsing until incorporated. Form dough into a ball and divide into 2
pieces. Form each piece into a ball and flatten to form disks. Chill disks,
wrapped separtely in plastic wrap, at least 1 hour and up to 1 week.

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Form 1 dough disk into twentyfour 1inch balls, keeping remaining disk
wrapped and chilled. Press dough balls into bottoms and up sides of
twentyfour 1/8cup minimuffin cups (about 1 Three fourths inches across top and 1
inch deep). Trim any overhang with a knife and prick bottoms of shells with
a wooden pick. Chill shells 15 minutes, or until firm. Bake shells in
middle of oven 12 minutes, or until golden, and cool in cups on racks.
Gently loosen shells with a knife and remove from cups, reserving shells
for chocolate raspberry bites (recipe below).

Make more shells (for lemon meringue bites; recipe above) in same manner
but after loosening shells do not remove them from cupss. Tartlet shells
may be made 2 days ahead and kept in an airtight container at room
temperature. Makes 48 tartlet shells.
Posted to TNT Prodigy's Recipe Exchange Newsletter by Syber12@aol.com on
Oct 26, 1997